I haven't walked the whole thing since 2004 when researching our Cateran Trail guidebook – so my accommodation experience might be a bit dated, but I did enjoy the Log Cabin Hotel amid the turf roofs of Kirkmichael. The small diversion from the Trail to Diarmid's Tomb is well worth doing but you need to read the instructions on page 39 because the OS Explorer map gets its position wrong. The hot news of 2006 is that the whole section from Dalnaglar to Kirkton of Glenisla has been moved offroad (fully described and mapped on our free upgrade card) so be sure you have that. In particular, on a clear day don't miss the side-trip up Mount Blair: for an altitude gain of only 380m (1250ft) you get amazing 360 views over 30 Munros including Ben Nevis 62 miles away! It also has the finest location indicator (built into the wind shelter at the summit) in Scotland, maybe in the world!

NB the offer of a free upgrade card applies to all Forum users: email your address to info@rucsacs.com but be aware that it makes much more sense if you have access to our book, it's not intended as a stand-alone.

Everywhere we stayed along the Cateran Trail was great, including the Log Cabin Hotel mentioned by Jacquetta. Even the rather large and touristy hotel at Spittal of Glenshee was great for people-watching. As a temporary resident in Scotland it seemed significant that Scottish management all wore long trousers while the Australian and East European staff were the ones wearing the kilts! Highlight for us was the Glenisla Hotel: we arrived on one of those wet October afternoons - the small bar and its magnicent fire and a great meal were superb.

We used the services of the local Tourist Information Centre in Blairgowrie to organise our accomodation for us. They did a great job and helped us enjoy our walk – during which we did not see a single other walker.

Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that more walkers are turning to walks like the Cateran Trail and Kintyre Way because they're finding that in the months they want to walk, like May and September, the West Highland Way is just too crowded, especially if you want to set off from Glasgow on a Saturday!